If you’d told me back in 2021 that I’d be spending my evenings in 2026 getting my skull caved in by a knight while screaming about lost loot, I’d have said… well, okay, that actually tracks. Let me explain.

Way back when, Matrioshka Games (the folks behind the pixel-art slasher Fallen Angel) and publisher Wandering Wizard teased something that made my Escape from Tarkov-scarred heart skip a beat: a first-person, hardcore PvPvE extraction game, but with swords, shields and absolutely zero chance of being headshot from 300 metres away by a scav I never saw. Fast forward to 2026, and Expedition Agartha has consumed hundreds of my hours. Boy oh boy, was I right to be terrified and excited.

The core loop is pure Tarkovian masochism. You drop onto the Lost Continent of Mu—an island that seems actively trying to unalive you—with the goal of looting, completing quests, and extracting before some axe-wielding maniac turns your spine into a xylophone. You can roll in as a Mercenary with your own gear (which you will lose if you die) or, once you’re broke and crying, queue as a Freebooter: a freebie life with basic equipment and nothing left to lose. I’ve spent more time as a Freebooter than I care to admit, and let me tell you, that mechanic is a tiny sliver of mercy in a game that otherwise hates your guts.

What really sets Expedition Agartha apart, and why I’m still here four years after its rocky launch, is the melee combat. I used to dread getting one-tapped by an unseen sniper in Tarkov—it felt cheap, unfair, and made me question my life choices. Here, every death is my own fault, and I mean that in the most painful way possible. The fighting is skill-based, with light and heavy attacks, directional blocking, and dodging that requires reading your opponent like a very angry book. You’ll trade blows, circle each other, and occasionally panic-mash buttons when a bandit NPC joins the fray. It’s Chivalry 2 channeled through a loot-extraction nightmare, and when you finally overcome a geared-up player and strip their corpse, the rush is better than any caffeine I’ve ever ingested.

Co-op is the soul of survival here. You can party up with two other poor souls, and communication becomes essential. Do we hunt another team? Farm NPCs for silver and gear? Or do we sprint for the exit the moment we hear a war horn? My most memorable moments are the ones where our plan falls apart spectacularly. Like the time I tried to heroically flank a group of bandits, only to fall into a spike pit and listen to my mates’ laughter echo through Discord while they left me for dead. I’m not gonna lie—I logged off for a day after that one.

There’s been a lot of growth since the “coming soon” days of 2022. Servers, once a lag-infested swamp, have been ironed out considerably. Sure, there are still occasional connection hiccups and the odd hacker who seems to parry every blow like a force user, but the dev team has been surprisingly responsive. New weapon types, raid-style missions, and the occasional seasonal event keep the island feeling fresh. The hub area now looks like a proper medieval camp where players trade, brag about extractions, and form shaky alliances that usually end in betrayal within ten minutes. Classic.

Is Expedition Agartha for everyone? Absolutely not. If you value your blood pressure or have an emotional attachment to your in-game possessions, stay far away. But if you crave that tense, full-loot PvP thrill where every decision could mean victory or a humiliating trudge back to the Freebooter queue, this game is a diamond coated in rust and dried blood. It’s messy, punishing, and sometimes straight-up unfair, but I can’t quit it. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.